Stage Review - The Moors (Lesser Known Players)
Stage Review - The Moors
Presented By: Lesser Known Players - Bainbridge Island, WA
Show Run: November 15 - December 01, 2024
Date Reviewed: Wednesday, November 13, 2024 (Preview)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
Anyone who knows me is aware that I can bring any conversation or experience back to a song lyric. The one that I was reminded of last night, after leaving the Lesser Known Players preview performance of The Moors at the Grange Hall on Bainbridge Island, is from the progressive rock band Rush, and their song Subdivisions. The song, which is relatable especially to the generation of us who grew up in suburbia, refers to what it is like being raised outside of the city, but not quite in the country, and it’s the line “nowhere is the misfit or the dreamer so alone” that came to mind last night. You see, and yes I will be getting to the point here, misfits and dreamers, two different personalities growing up in the same conditions, have different dreams and desires, and those personalities, along with other factors like birth order and life experience of course, determine how they react to the intersection of their situation and their dreams. It is much the same in Jen Silverman’s play (see, I’m getting to my point!), which is running on stage at the Grange through December 1, in a production that represents Ruthann Saunders’ mainstage directorial debut. Living in the Yorkshire Moors, where this play takes place, would take some adjusting for even the most hardened American. It’s a decently sized area, with coastal portions as well as those that are inland, the latter characterized by a rocky infrastructure, with weather and temperatures that can vary daily and weekly. It’s generally unpredictable and living there can affect different people in very different ways. And that is the point of The Moors, the play is a study in how isolation informs the behaviors of those with various personalities, how those individuals pursue their desires and how it impacts their relationships. It’s truly a dark comedy, and it’s in the wheelhouse of the Lesser Known Players, a group never known to shy away from pieces that look at some of the darker sides of our humanity and present them in an accessible way, a way that makes us think about our own behaviors and relationships, each person in the audience surely able to recognize at least one thing that they’ll see from the actors on stage.
In The Moors, two sisters, Agatha the eldest and her younger sibling Huldey, and their mastiff spend their time whiling away in the home once occupied by their parents, and their older brother, each dreaming of their legacy, Agatha through an exertion of power and control, and Huldey through standing out, living a unique life, a memorable one, the latter constantly scribbling her every thought into her diary, much to her sister’s chagrin. Meanwhile, the mastiff, their dog, who is treated horribly by the sisters, and in what feels like something out of a Far Side comic, stands up when they’re not around and proclaims his desire for love, for a meaningful relationship, which he tries to incubate on the moors when he meets a female moor-hen. While all of this is happening, a new face appears on the scene, a governess who was summoned, seemingly by the sisters’ older brother, to take care of their younger brother. Joining the sisters, the mastiff, and Emilie, the governess, in the house is Marjory, the maid (or is it Mallory?). This is just one of the strange goings on at Branwell house. Marjory, the scullery maid, has been stricken with typhus, while Mallory, the parlor maid, has been stricken by being with child. But it’s clear to the audience this is the same person, just like the parlor and Emilie’s bedroom are exactly the same, something that doesn’t go unnoticed by the governess herself. And where are the sisters’ older and younger brothers, the former the source of the letters summoning Emilie to the moors and the latter whom she is supposed to be there to take care of? It’s fairly evident to the audience that nothing in the moors is what it seems, or at least what was sold to Emilie, and that goes for the characters both seen and unseen. The play is about loneliness and despair, control and power, relationships and conflicting desires, and about what we’re willing to sacrifice, or overlook, to get what we want. The Moors is funny at times, extremely dark and scary at others, and extremely thought provoking. You wouldn’t know this was Ruthann’s directorial debut, she has assembled a cast and creative team that understands Jen Silverman’s vision for The Moors, the contrast in setting and topicality, how it is a play that tackles modern subjects, such as identity and sex roles, and sets them in 1800s England, and that together has produced a very fine piece.
Josi Twigt and Kristi Ann Jacobson are sisters Agatha and Huldey, two characters that couldn’t be more different. Agatha is serious, in charge, and ultimately has no time for her sister, for their dog, or for anything else other than her own desire to keep her place at the top of the family food chain. Josi portrays Agatha exactly in this manner, she’s dead serious, with nary a smile, her posture is stiff, and her vocal delivery is precise and direct. She sits as though she’s on a throne, ruling the Branwell house with a firm hand, pushing the dog away whenever he gets near. On the other hand is Huldey, wide eyed and dreaming of a life that means something, her desires always pushed down by sister Agatha, but her dreams persist. Kristi Ann is perfectly cast in this role, which is more complex than one would think. What Kristi Ann can do through a slight facial expression is simply uncanny, turning unmitigated joy into extreme sadness, or hope into despair. It’s a skill that she applies to this character quite a bit in this show. She also has a few surprises in the offing, but this is a spoiler-free zone, so you’ll have to see The Moors to find out what those are. Huldey is naive, yes, she’s a dreamer, but she’s also a bit of a follower, lacking the confidence to stand up to her sister, resulting in an underlying sadness that permeates her mood. When governess Emilie arrives, Josi’s Agatha immediately attempts to exert control over her while Huldey believes she’s got a new friend, someone in her corner. Quickly, though, Emilie, played extremely well here by Abby Dickson, starts to question not just Agatha’s motives but the entire situation that she has gotten herself into. It’s what happens when Emilie has the opportunity to leave, and decides not to, when Abby’s character begins to transform, when she comes into her own in this show. Abby’s acting is excellent throughout, first as the governess arriving at the house, smitten with the man who wrote the letters to her Emilie, asking her to come and take care of his young child, and then through her transformation after she accepts her place within the household and how she decides to deal with her own loneliness. The audience even gets to hear Abby’s wonderful soprano in a song that seems to rip Kristi Ann’s Huldey to her core. I’m also impressed with the intimate chemistry between Josi and Abby in their scenes when this transformation begins. The struggle between the two, the simultaneous drawing together and pulling apart is palpable, it’s an excellent piece of acting between this pair. The other piece of this equation is maid Marjory/Mallory, played by Amanda Rae Gutgsell. Amanda’s performance is a tale of two acts. In the first act her characters’ roles are more to foster confusion, to make Emilie wonder where she is and wonder what she’s gotten herself into. But in Act 2, when she suggests a way for Kristi Ann’s Huldey to have her life of import, Amanda launches into what may well be the best performance I’ve seen from her, one full of emotion, of nuance, and one with a wonderful stage presence. Her Mallory, or is it Marjory, is a fantastic pot stirrer, and Amanda is very good in this role.
While all this is going on, in what seems like a parallel storyline, the sisters’ mastiff, without a specific name, heads out into the moors, where he meets the aforementioned female moor-hen. In this production, two actors play these characters, with Jared Oliver and Gary Fetterplace alternating as the mastiff, and Sarah Conte-Bacolini and Ali Lovie Zollo alternating as the moor-hen. While Jared played the mastiff on the preview night, I had the opportunity to see both moor-hen actors, Sarah in Act 1 and Ali in Act 2. It was a nice opportunity to see each of these actors and their individual takes on the same character. What the mastiff is looking for in the moor-hen is a real connection, a relationship that won’t end, and despite the fact that they come from two different worlds, and it seems the pair can’t possibly work out a relationship together, the mastiff becomes rather adamant, even obsessed, with making sure the two stay together. Jared’s performance is stellar. He has absolutely nailed the emotional instability of this character, the way he spirals as the play progresses, holding as tight as he can onto the relationship, with a series of behaviors that are clearly a result of how he’s been treated by the sisters back at the house. On the moor-hen side, I would have liked to see each of these actors for the full show, as Sarah brings an energy to the character that Ali doesn’t necessarily have, while Ali’s seems a bit more thoughtful, almost sadder. They’re two different takes on the same character, both good, but both extremely unique.
The Lesser Known Players, especially since taking up residence at their new home at the Grange Hall, have leaned more on their actors’ performances than on their creative designs to make their shows work. With The Moors, the gap between performance and design has certainly closed considerably. The first piece of the design that stands out is the set, designed and constructed by Gary Fetterplace. There are two areas where the action takes place, indoors in the Branwell house and outdoor on the moors. On the floor of the Grange Hall is the parlor/bedroom, basically the inside of the home. Stage left is a chaise lounge, stage right is a small dining table and chairs, with a china cabinet set behind, and in between is an arm chair. Ruthann does a nice job with the movement between and among the furniture, and uses the armchair as a sort of throne to represent Agatha’s consolidation of power in the family. On the stage, under the proscenium of the hall are the moors themselves, and the focal point of the design, a mural in segments, painted by Josi and Lori Anderson. This mural is a wonderful piece of art and itself is one of the highlights of the show. Ruthann’s lighting design is very good, I like her how her illumination of the moors morphs as the mood and the relationship changes between the mastiff and the moor-hen. There’s also a scene toward the end where her lighting stands out as well. Matt Haver’s sound design is nice, it’s more subtle here, but for this show, that’s a good thing. The absolute hands down star of this show on the creative side is Kristi Ann’s costuming. I appreciate when a character’s wardrobe helps to inform their personality, or helps to tell their story, but rarely does an entire costume design in community theatre do that to the extent that it does here. When The Moors begins, Josi’s wardrobe exudes power, Kristi Ann’s is more casual, and Abby’s is bright and flowery. Amanda’s is more on the functional side, an outfit fit for a maid in 1800s England, but whether she is Marjory or Mallory depends on which side of her apron is facing out. For the mastiff and moor-hen, these costumes are creative in the way that they represent the animals and their personalities, especially the feathery neckpiece of the moor-hen and lacy skirt, but it’s the other three where this design really excels. Honestly, I have no doubt that if there was no dialogue, any member of the audience could follow along with the many costume changes in the play and understand how each of the characters transform from the beginning to the end of the piece. I’ve not seen a costume design with such a strong and true narrative component to it in a long time.
The Moors is a true dark comedy, one that looks at the effect that isolation and loneliness has on individuals with different personalities, to see how they react to it and how it informs their behavior as they aim to try and reach their goals or make their dreams come true. The Lesser Known Players are known for putting shows up that dig into the good and bad of our humanity, and have taken on a show here that fits into their wheelhouse, and with a cast that masterfully portrays individuals with dreams of power and desires for a life of purpose, they have produced something that is interesting, thought provoking, and extremely good.
The Lesser Known Players production of The Moors runs on stage at the Grange Hall on Bainbridge Island through December 1. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://www.lesserknownplayers.org/. Note that The Moors runs approximately 2 hours, including a 15 minute intermission.
